An interactive pricing configurator designed for the AWS Console that provides real-time cost estimates as customers configure their database resources. The widget dynamically calculates and displays pricing based on customer selections, connecting directly to the AWS Pricing API to ensure accuracy and transparency at the point of resource creation.
Goal: Improve pricing transparency during database resource creation, help customers make educated pricing decisions, and reduce confusion around AWS database pricing through real-time cost visibility.
AWS customers consistently reported difficulty understanding pricing transparency, particularly during the resource creation process. Without clear visibility into costs at the point of configuration, customers struggled to make informed decisions about their database setup, leading to confusion and frustration.
Customers had no visibility into the financial impact of their configuration choices during resource creation. This lack of transparency made it difficult to understand what they would be charged before committing to a database setup.
AWS pricing varies based on multiple factors—instance type, storage, region, and more. Without real-time calculations, customers couldn't easily understand how their choices affected total cost.
The absence of pricing information during configuration led to hesitation and abandoned workflows. Customers couldn't confidently proceed without understanding the cost implications.
Customers had to leave the console and visit separate pricing pages or calculators to estimate costs, creating friction and breaking the creation workflow.
Why it mattered: Pricing transparency is critical for building customer trust and confidence. Without it, customers hesitated to adopt AWS services or made uninformed decisions that led to unexpected costs.
The approach focused on creating an interactive experience that would update dynamically as customers made configuration changes, while building a reusable component that could scale across multiple AWS services with minimal customization.
Leveraged existing usability research study data that specifically highlighted customer pain points around pricing transparency. The research revealed that customers faced significant challenges understanding costs during the resource creation workflow.
Using Figma and the AWS Design System, I explored various layouts and interaction patterns that would seamlessly integrate into the existing AWS Console experience. The key principle was to make pricing information visible and understandable without disrupting the configuration workflow.
The technical architecture was designed with reusability as a core principle. I worked closely with the frontend engineer to define the component's logic, establishing a flexible architecture that would allow any AWS service team to implement the widget with minimal customization.
Throughout the development process, we validated the technical accuracy of pricing calculations by cross-referencing API responses with known pricing data. The component logic was tested across various configuration scenarios to ensure accuracy and performance.
The pricing widget provides real-time cost estimates directly within the database creation workflow, giving customers immediate visibility into the financial impact of their configuration choices.
Cost estimates update instantly as customers modify their database configuration, providing immediate feedback on pricing impact.
Direct connection to AWS Pricing API ensures all displayed prices are accurate and reflect current rates.
Built for flexibility, allowing any AWS service team to implement with minimal customization.
The component updates cost estimates instantly as customers modify their database configuration, providing immediate feedback on the financial impact of each decision. This eliminates guesswork and helps customers make informed choices.
Demo available to view on desktop.
Direct connection to the AWS Pricing API ensures that all displayed prices are accurate and reflect current rates, with each configuration input mapped to its corresponding pricing SKU. This guarantees customers see exactly what they'll be charged.
Built with flexibility in mind, the widget was designed and architected to be easily implemented by any AWS service team, reducing development overhead and ensuring consistency across the console. The modular design allows for service-specific customization without requiring significant re-engineering.
Design Impact: By providing real-time pricing visibility at the point of resource creation, the widget empowers customers to make educated decisions with confidence, directly addressing the pain point of pricing transparency.
The pricing widget is currently live and actively being used by AWS customers in the database creation workflow, providing immediate value through improved pricing transparency.
Bottom Line: This project demonstrates how design solutions that prioritize transparency and usability can directly address customer pain points while creating technical infrastructure that scales across an organization.
Leveraging existing research data can significantly accelerate the design process and ensure customer needs are addressed from the start. Understanding pain points early allowed us to focus on solutions that directly addressed real customer challenges.
Building for reusability from the beginning, even with tight timelines, pays dividends when the component needs to scale across multiple services. The initial investment in flexible architecture reduces long-term development costs and ensures consistency.
Close collaboration between design and engineering is essential when defining complex component logic and API integrations, particularly for accuracy-critical features like pricing. Working together from the start ensured both technical feasibility and design quality.
This project demonstrates how addressing customer pain points with thoughtful design and technical solutions that prioritize both usability and accuracy can create lasting value. Future enhancements could include cost comparison features, savings recommendations, and historical pricing trends to further empower customers in making informed decisions.